Talk:Unknown Aggressors/@comment-64.91.8.202-20191014211706
Reading all of the comments about who these alien beings might be and what their motives are has been highly interesting. I have a theory different from those I've seen thus far and would really like some feedback. I'm no scientists so bare with me on this... I agree entirely with the assumptions about these types of beings preferring to stay away from wars on such a massive scale. Also, from a militaristic standpoint, there would be no plausible reason for an interdimensional being, or any being as advanced as these seem to be, to commit genocide. So what if all of these theories are way off? Most theories revolve around assuming there is some sort of malicious intent behind the actions shown by "the aggressors." This may not be the case at all, making most of the assumptions in theories I've seen so far invalid. What if the aggressors are really some form of self-appointed care-takers? The science behind the highly advanced technology being used is incredibly complex and likely full of peril. Peril such as accidentally causing galactic, or even universal, destruction if not handled properly. Think along the lines of popping a bubble of absolute vacuum (something that could destroy the entire universe in a way that will make you feel incredibly small.) Granted, the destruction would "only" move at the speed of light, so would be forever limited to "just" that supercluster of galaxies due to the rate of expansion... Unless you accidentally redirected a few wormholes. The point is, the ring technology is INCREDIBLY dangerous, even if no ill intent is ever used. A sufficiently advanced civilization would understand these dangers and would likely try to stop other up and coming civilizations from making catastrophic mistakes. This doesn't mean they would want to stop scientific and technological advancement. We wouldn't stop chimps from using tools and evolving into more complex societies, but we would probably step in if their use of such things started to put our world at risk in ways they could not understand. If we assume the aggressors in the case of the ring civilization were not genocidal lunatics, the collapse of an entire species was likely not intentional. If the ring civilization was trying to reach beyond their own comprehension, the aggressors may have simply been stopping them from courses resulting in devastation. If the ring civilization was exceptionally stubborn (much like our own society,) the end result would have been their demise. The tools would have been left intact because they weren't the real problem. Now, here come humans throwing bombs around interdimensional voids and shooting lasers at gates to pocket universes... It seems like the correct response from an intelligence capable of fully understanding these things would be to force us to slow down and think about what we are doing. There could be an argument that simply communicating would be enough... But imagine your toddler poking metal things into a wall receptacle. If it were mine, there would be a quick smack involved. Trying to explain would be pointless and counterproductive, likely resulting in the undesired outcome's realization. A quick smack and placing barriers in the path is generally the acceptable, and most productive, response. You don't rip the receptacle out of the wall... There's a lot more that can be said regarding this idea, but I figured this would be enough to get a few wheels turning. So, could be on to something?